


Business As Usual

by ledhercules



Category: The Proposal (2009), Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Nicole has two sisters, Slow Burn, Waverly is lowkey a hippie, a lot of flirting, idiots falling in love, lowkey enemies to lovers, oregon trope, sloooowww burrrnnn, some flirting, this entire fic is just one giant slow burn, willa is nice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ledhercules/pseuds/ledhercules
Summary: Top book publisher and high-powered editor, Waverly Earp, is about to be deported back to Canada. The only solution is to marry her assistant, American born citizen Nicole Haught. All they have to do is act like a real couple. If only things were that simple.orThe Proposal AU
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 63
Kudos: 275





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Thank you for checking out my fic! To my returning readers, please read the end notes for some important info! That said, I hope you enjoy this fic. Much love!

Nicole sighs heavily and groans while she hits the ‘off’ button on her alarm clock. If you were to ask her if she was a morning person she would undoubtedly say no. She would argue that she’s a morning in person in the sense that she wakes up every day at 7:30 AM, just barely giving herself enough time to get ready, get her boss’s coffee, and walk 20 minutes to work, and _still_ be on time. But would she voluntarily wake up each morning at 7:30 in the morning? No, no she wouldn’t. Most days, especially if she was out late the night before, she slept well past 10:00 in the morning. 

Her boss, Waverly Earp, was a morning person and Nicole knew this. Waverly loved to start out her day with a 3-mile run, followed by a shower and some sort of healthy breakfast. Her internal clock always woke up at 6 AM and Waverly loved it. Nicole on the other hand couldn’t quite comprehend why someone would want to be up that early. 

Nicole sat up in bed, swinging her legs over the bed as she ran her fingers through her messy red hair. She slipped on her moccasins as she trudged to the tiny kitchen of her tiny apartment only to watch black liquid pour into her Fordham University mug. She did her daily morning scrolling through social media on her phone as she sips her coffee with the slightest bit of French vanilla creamer hitting the back of her tongue. Checking her social media was always the first she did in the morning. 

After her morning coffee, she’d take a shower then gobble down a granola bar as she packed her shoulder bag with her laptop, files, and papers that she had to have for work. Just like 90% of her workweek, she was running out the door to Starbucks to pick up her boss’s morning coffee, her grande double-shot espresso with hazelnut. Nicole would almost always indulge herself by getting another cup of coffee, cappuccino with 2 shots of vanilla and cold foam. Her goal every morning was to make it to the office _before_ her boss which she always did, but it was never achieved without her running out the door and pushing past everyone on the busy streets of New York City. 

It seems as though just about everyone that lived in New York City was on the sidewalk rushing to get somewhere. Nicole was practically sprinting to get to work, bumping into just about everyone that was in her way. Just as she was about to open the door to her building she dropped her boss’s coffee on the ground, it spilling everywhere including her shoes. 

“Shit!” she exclaimed as she attempted to wipe the coffee off her Oxfords. She sighed heavily as she sprint-walked into Blockman and Rubinowitz Publishing, squeezing into the elevator with about 4 other people. 

Just seconds after she sat at her desk, her boss, Waverly Earp, the top most sought out book editor in New York City, walked into the office. Everyone immediately went back to work in their cubicles, picking up the phone that had no one on the line, bringing up random documents on their computers to make themselves look busy. It wasn’t like Waverly was a scary boss, in fact, she was quite kind and sweet. But when it came to her job and employees, she was extremely professional and did not like to stray away from her work. 

“Moning, Nicole,” Waverly said with a warm smile as she sat at her desk and unpacked her things. 

“Morning, Waverly,” Nicole said with a smile back. “Um, I was actually wondering if we could talk about my manuscript? I finished it last night and-”

“Hm. This is… your coffee,” Waverly interrupted, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“Right, uh, I accidentally spilled your coffee as I was walking into work this morning,” Nicole said sheepishly. 

Waverly nodded as she looked back at the order paper sticking to the Starbucks cup. “Cappuccino with 2 shots of vanilla and sweet cream cold foam?”

“Yep!” Nicole could feel the heat rising on her cheeks. Waverly was intimidating, extremely intimidating. She was so focused, so intelligent, and her unwavering hard work was hard to come by. It was honestly a bit intriguing to Nicole, watching someone put so much of herself into her job. Truthfully, it never seemed like Waverly ever gave herself a break. It seemed like her foot was constantly on the gas at all times. 

“That’s my coffee order every time without fail,” Nicole explained. 

“Maybe that’s why you smell like vanilla all the time,” Waverly said as she took another sip. "Oh, and Jillian wants you to call her.” She held up the cup to expose the barista’s name and number on the side of the cup. 

“Um-”

“Thanks for the coffee.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Nicole let out a small sigh of relief as she sat at her desk and signed into her computer. Before she could even hit enter the phone started ringing. 

“Ms. Earp’s office?” she answered in a cheery tone. 

_“Yeah, can I speak to Waverly please?”_ a gruff voice said on the other line. 

“Ms. Earp is busy right now, can I take a message for you?” 

_“Uh, can I just talk to Waverly please? It’ll be quick.”_

“I’m sorry ma’am but she’s busy right now, can I-”

_“Dude can you just put my sister on the phone?”_

“Your sister?”

_“Uh, yeah? Wynonna, Wynonna Earp? Waverly’s older sister? I’m surprised she hasn’t talked about me, she’s gotta have a picture of me on her desk, right? I mean I am her favorite sister.”_

“Right, of course, let me transfer you to her line.” 

_“Thanks, man!”_

Nicole let out another huge sigh as she finally signed in on her laptop. Today was going to be a long day, she could feel it in her bones. 

“Haught, I’ll be right back, if my sister calls again just ignore it, let it go to voicemail. In the meantime, I sent you Paxton’s manuscript, I’d like you to go over and read through it.”

“You got it,” Nicole said with a smile. “I actually finished my manuscript last night and-” 

“I shouldn’t be too long,” Waverly said, buried in her phone and not realizing she had interrupted Nicole. “I’ll see you in a few.” She smiled politely before turning around and heading for Human Resources. 

“You wanted to see me, Mr. Tate?” Waverly asked politely as she stepped into his office. 

“Ah, yes, Ms. Earp. Please, have a seat,” he said with a smile. 

“Is something wrong, sir?”

“Well, we do have a bit of a problem,” he said calmly as he opened up a manila folder. “It’s come to my attention that your visa has expired. In fact, it expired about a month ago.” 

“A month ago?” Waverly asked in disbelief. “I could’ve sworn it was good for another year.” 

“Yes, well, it seems as though that’s not the case,” he explained. “Unfortunately Ms. Earp, until you can get your visa renewed, you’re going to have to be deported back to Canada.” 

“Deported?!” Waverly asked with wide eyes. 

“Yes, deported. Since you’re not legally residing here in the United States, immigration and this company don’t really have a choice here.”

“But who would run my office?”

“Well, the best option we have here is Champ Hardy.”

“Champ Hardy,” Waverly scoffed and rolled her eyes. Champ Hardy had to have been the biggest douchebag she had ever met. The biggest mistake she ever made. She had dated him for about three months after college. She was miserable the entire relationship. _Somehow_ he ended up with a job at this office just a few months ago. 

He flirted with anything that moved, including herself. She had always turned him down and wasn’t really sure why he even bothered at this point. Not to mention she has had several female employers report to her how uncomfortable he had made them. She reported them to HR, but did they do anything? Of course not. 

“Champ Hardy? Really? He’s the most immature, sexist, arrogant person I’ve ever met.”

“Trust me, he’s not my favorite person either,” Mr. Tate agreed. “But he is the best fit for this job.” 

“He’s going to run us into the ground! Getting my visa could take over a month. You really can’t find anyone better?” 

“Well, there is…” Mr. Tate paused, thinking before he answered. 

“Who? Who is it?” 

“Stephanie Jones?” he answered sheepishly. “Although she’s not the most qualified I do agree that in terms of civility and professionalism she would be much better. This is your office, however, so I will let you decide who you want to run it.” 

Waverly groaned internally. Stephanie Jones was not her favorite person, but she was certainly a step up from Champ Hardy. Stephanie Jones was constantly bragging about some new-fangled purse, phone, shoes, what vacation her family was going on next month. She grew up spoiled, she was your classic mean girl Not to mention that she was constantly flirting with Nicole, even though she was married, to a man. It was like every time Stephanie was within 50 feet of Nicole she was making some cutesy annoying little comment about how great Nicole looked. For some reason, it really irked Waverly. They both had always made subtle remarks and jabs at each other, but they mostly kept it all professional. But, she was an amazing writer and it would’ve been hard for the work side of Waverly to have turned her down.

“Fine, fine, Stephanie Jones. She can’t do much damage in a month,” Waverly muttered. 

There’s a quick knock at the door and seconds after Nicole is poking her head into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have Mrs. Andrews on the phone and-”

“We’re in the middle of something, Nicole,” Waverly says firmly. 

“I told her you weren’t available but she insisted that it was urgent and-”

“I’ll make this quick, I know how it feels to be married to the job, so I can imagine how this must be difficult for you. If you have another idea, Ms. Earp, we’d be open to hearing it, but Stephanie Jones it is,” Mr. Tate said sympathetically, singing into his computer. 

_Married to the job, married…._

A lightbulb goes off in Waverly’s head. She shoots Nicole a look, which was enough for her to tilt her head in confusion. She motioned for the redhead to walk into the office, which she does reluctantly. 

“Mr. Tate, there was something I forgot to mention to you,” Waverly said, looking back up at Nicole. “Um, Nicole and I are getting married!”

Nicole looked down at Waverly, trying her best to keep her face resolute but her head was swirling. 

“Come again?” Mr. Tate asked with raised eyebrows. 

“Well, after long nights in the office, work calls, sometimes after long workdays, we’d get a drink, it just… became inevitable,” Waverly lied. Nicole was a little shocked at how the words so seamlessly and believably came out of her mouth. “Isn’t that right, Nicole?”

Nicole just barely snapped out of it, giving a very sheepish answer. “Uh yes, that’s right.”

“So, you two are getting married?” Mr. Tate asked, narrowing his eyes at the two of them. 

“Yes, yes we are,” Waverly said with a smile, squeezing Nicole’s hand. 

“Yes, yes we are getting married,” Nicole said quietly, her tone betraying her. 

“Really?”

“Yes, Mr. Tate,” Nicole said firmly this time, squeezing Waverly’s hand back. “We are getting married.” She smiled down at Waverly, dimples on full display. They had never been this close before and it was definitely making Waverly feel all warm inside. 

“Well, congratulations then!” he said happily. “Looks like we don’t need Stephanie or Champ then. Just don’t forget to talk to immigration and maybe make it official?” He asked, pointing to his ring finger. 

  
  


“Ah yes, of course,” Waverly said with an apologetic smile. “Thank you so much, Mr. Tate.”

Both she and Nicole walked out of his office. Nicole however, was in total shock, unable to wipe the wide-eyed look off her face. 

“Um, what just happened?” Nicole asked as she shut Waverly’s office door behind them. 

“It looks like we’re getting married,” Waverly said as she sat at the edge of her desk. Her pencil skirt rode up just a tiny bit and Nicole couldn’t help but notice. 

“Um, why?!” 

“Well, I was going to get deported back to Canada. Which meant Champ Hardy or Stephanie Jones would take over and well, that’s a nightmare just in itself.”

Nicole looked at her, still confused. 

"One of them would've fired you the second I'm gone, guaranteed. That means you're out of a job and your dreams of touching the lives of millions with the written word are dead, understand? So until then, like it or not, your wagon is hitched to mine." 

“Waverly, this is _illegal,_ I could go to jail for this!” 

“Listen, my sisters live in Oregon, and on Sunday I was planning on flying out for her birthday, that gives us about a week to figure all of this out, talk to immigration, and get married, ok? Until then you’re sorta stuck with me.” 

Nicole nodded, trying to process the sheer craziness that she was hearing. “This is… insane.”

“After we get married and I get my visa renewed we can get a divorce, simple as that,” Waverly said more calmly than she should have. 

“No, Waverly, there is _nothing_ simple about this. Immigration is going to be _all_ over us! We’re going to have to sell it like we’re a real couple!”

“Well, Mr. Tate believed it didn’t he? As long as you don’t freak out we’re going to be fine. Luckily for me, you’re not too hard on the eyes, this should be easy. Just let me handle it, ok?” Waverly got up from her desk and started packing things into her shoulder bag. “We need to go talk to immigration, you gather your things and I’ll get us a cab.” 

Waverly walked past Nicole and out the door, while she still stood there dumbfounded. What the hell did she just get herself into? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that first chapter! It starts off a bit slow but I promise it picks up! If you haven't watched the movie 'The Proposal' I really recommend you should. It stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and it's honestly really good. 
> 
> To my returning readers- if you haven't noticed, I've deleted two of my recent fics. 'Like Sleep to the Freezing' and the high school fic I can't remember the name of. They are in my docs somewhere and if one day I feel the urge to go back and rewrite them I will, but right now it's just not the time. I hope you can understand! 
> 
> This fic has been in the works for a while and I'm pretty proud of it so I really hope you guys will stick around until the end. New chapters should be up once a week. Till next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With today's recent events- I thought I'd give y'all the chapter early. I was going to wait until at least Friday/next Monday but I thought this would be a nice little gift. If any of you in the capitol area, please be safe!

“So, Ms. Earp and Ms. Haught,” Mrs. Chilton started as she looked at Waverly’s file. “You two are getting married, is that correct?” 

“Yes, ma’am it is,” Waverly said, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Nicole’s knee before quickly taking it back. 

“And why wasn’t this announced  _ before  _ you found out your visa was expired? Seems a bit… convenient, don’t you think?”

Waverly smiled as if there was nothing wrong with this situation. “Yes, I can see where it may come off that way. Honestly, we did not want to make a big deal out of it. We can see how it looks, the boss dating their assistant. We just wanted to keep it on the down-low, just stay in that little bubble for a little while longer.”

“Is that right, Nicole?” Mrs. Chilton asked. 

“Um, yes, yes. We felt we should keep it a secret a little longer because of the promotion I have coming up.” Nicole relishes in the way Waverly glares at her. 

“We felt it would be deeply inappropriate to promote me to editor if we were,” she gestures between the two of them. 

“ _ Editor? _ ” 

“Well, you know.” Nicole had to hold back the smirk that was creeping up on her face. Waverly’s eyes narrow at her. She’s both annoyed and impressed with her. Maybe she’s enjoying this a little too much. 

“Right. Tell me again how you fell in love?” 

“Uh.”

“Well, we actually-”

“Well, you see-”

“We sort of always knew, Mrs. Chilton,” Waverly said, deciding to take the reins on this story. 

“It started off as late nights at the office together, then it turned into drinks after work.” 

Nicole could count on one hand how many times they had gotten drinks together after work. Waverly would always make up the excuse that she was tired or wasn’t in the mood, but she always ended up taking up Nicole’s offer. The few drinks they had gotten together weren’t bad, it was awkward but Waverly wasn’t completely unbearable. Whenever they’d get drinks Nicole would end up more stressed then she already was because they always ended up talking about work. A bar is supposed to do the exact opposite, it’s supposed to be a place to unwind after a long day of work. She stopped asking after the first few times. 

“Then it turned into getting brunch on Sundays, we started seeing each other way more outside the office and then from there on… it just turned into this.” 

“Nicole, is there something you’d like to tell me?” Mrs. Chilton looked her dead in the eye. “Perhaps maybe, the truth?” 

“The truth. The truth Mrs. Chilton, uh, the truth is,” Nicole started, ignoring the side-eyed glare she could feel coming from Waverly.

“The truth is that we’re just two people who were never meant to fall in love.” 

Nicole subtly smiled slyly over at Waverly, who clearly was annoyed but made sure to keep her face as resolute as possible. She was definitely enjoying this way too much. 

“And do your parents know about this?” she asked. 

“Well actually we were going to tell my sisters this weekend,” Waverly chimed in. “It’s my sister’s birthday and we were going to go up and see her.” 

“And you, Nicole?”

“My parents and I haven’t talked in close to 10 years now. They wouldn’t be interested in what I have to say,” Nicole laughs softly. 

“And why’s that?”

“Well, I mean, clearly I’m marrying this gorgeous  _ woman _ over here,” she smiles over at Waverly. “If Waverly was a man maybe things would be different.” 

Mrs. Chilton nodded her head slowly. “Ah, I see.” She didn’t look all that convinced, but let them go anyway. “Alright, here’s how this is going to work. First, there’s an interview, I ask you two everything a  _ real  _ couple would know about each other. Next, I ask your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, even your dog about you two. I’ll dig through your garbage can if I must. If your answers do not match up you Ms. Earp are going back to Canada and you Ms. Haught will have up to a 250 thousand dollar fine and up to 5 years in federal prison.” 

Nicole was sure her lungs had just collapsed, if she wasn’t 28 years old she could’ve sworn she was having a heart attack. She was trying to keep down her coffee from this morning as it is. 

“I will see you both next Monday,” she said as she wrote the time and date of their next meeting on a sticky note. “Your answers better match up. Don’t be surprised if I check up on you.” 

“Yes, thank you Mrs. Chilton,” Waverly said politely as she followed Nicole out the door. 

“Alright, Haught. We’ll go to Portland, pretend we’re girlfriends, get married, get a quickie divorce then that’ll be that,” Waverly declared as they walked out of the building. “I can handle the plane tickets, but make sure you get the miles, that’ll make it all easier.” 

Nicole shakes her head and picks up the pace. 

“Hey, where are you going?!” Waverly calls out after her, shoving her phone back into her purse. 

“I’m sorry but were you not in that room?!” Nicole exclaimed, turning back around to talk to her. 

“Of course, I was. That editor thing threw me off, but she seemed to have bought it so I give you kudos for that.” 

“I’m serious!” Nicole shouts in frustration. “I’m looking at a fine of over 200 thousand dollars and five years in prison, that changes things!” 

“Mrs. Chilton bought it and so did Mr. Tate,” Waverly reassured. “We have a week to talk about it and learn all we need to learn so we can pass this interview. We can sign some papers at the courthouse and that’s that, ok?” 

“Waverly are you insane? Do you have  _ any  _ idea how serious this is? I mean honest to God-”

“I’m not promoting you to editor,” Waverly interrupts firmly. 

“Fine, then I quit and you’re screwed. Goodbye Waverly,” Nicole snaps, feeling incredibly offended that her boss can’t even  _ realize  _ or at least  _ pretend  _ that this entire situation was as serious as it was. 

“Wait, Nicole!” Waverly exclaims, watching her disappear into the bustling city crowds. “Fine! Fine!” 

Nicole stops in her tracks and turns back to her boss, keeping her face neutral. 

“Fine,” Waverly says in defeat. “If you come with me to Oregon, do the interview, I’ll promote you to editor.”

“I don’t mean in two years, I mean right now,” Nicole says, watching Waverly glare at her. 

“Fine,” Waverly agrees with a roll of her eyes. 

“And you print my manuscript,” Nicole adds. 

“Ten thousand-”

“Twenty thousand copies first run.” Nicole raised her eyebrows at Waverly, waiting for her answer. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Waverly grunted. 

“Now, ask me nicely,” Nicole stands up straighter.

“Ask you nicely what?”

“Ask me nicely to marry you, Waverly,” she smirks. 

“What? What the hell does that mean?”

“You heard me, on your knees.” 

Waverly glares at her and looks around, only seeing a few thousand people walking by them. 

“Fine,” she gives in. She awkwardly gets down on the ground on both knees, the pencil skirt making it hard to move at all. “Does this work for you?” she asks in a sassy tone.

“Oh yes, I’m enjoying this.” 

“Ok great. Uh, will you marry me?” she says in a rush, wanting to get it over with. 

“No. Say it like you mean it.” 

Waverly glances to her side as she composes herself, swallowing every ounce of dignity and pride she barely had left. 

“Nicole, sweet, sweet Nicole, will you please, with cherries on top, marry me?” 

Nicole looks up as if she was pondering in thought. “Ok, I don’t appreciate the sarcasm but I’ll do it. I’ll see you at the airport on Sunday.” 

Waverly reaches up for Nicole’s hand only for her to walk away, letting her fall forward on her hands. Now she's kneeling there alone, probably looking crazy in front of thousands of New Yorkers. Thankfully it was the city and nothing was ever out of the ordinary in the Big Apple.  She watched as Nicole swiftly walked away, getting lost in the busy crowd of the city streets. She let out a sigh as she realized what she was in for. 

This was going to be a fun week. 

* * *

“I cannot believe what I’ve gotten myself into,” Nicole mutters to herself as she looks out the plane window. 

“Did you say something?” Waverly asked agitatedly as she looked up from her phone. 

“Yeah, I did. I said ‘I can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into,’” she snaps back. 

“Oh please, stop whining we’ll get married, get divorced and that’ll be that.” 

“As  _ if  _ it was that simple,” Nicole rolled her eyes. “These are the questions INS is going to ask us,” she says holding up a folder. “Good news is I know mostly everything about you. The bad news is you have 5 days to learn all of this about me. So you should probably-”

Waverly drops her phone to her lap and snatches the folder right out of her hands. 

“Get to studying,” she mumbles. 

“You know all of this about me?”

Nicole hums. “Scary, isn’t it?”

“Maybe a little,” she murmurs. She scans the folder, realizing it’s pretty thick and there are a lot of words on there. “Alright, what am I allergic to?” 

“Tree nuts,” she answers confidently. “And the full spectrum of human emotion.” 

“Oh haha, funny,” she laughs weakly, clearly not amused. “Let’s see… do I have any scars?” 

“I’m pretty sure you have a tattoo.”

“Oh you’re uh, you’re pretty sure?”

“I’m pretty sure. Two years ago your dermatologist called asking about a Q-switch laser. So of course, I googled a Q-switch laser and found out they remove tattoos. But you canceled your appointment. So what is it? Tribal ink? Japanese calligraphy? Barbed wire?” 

Waverly smiles sarcastically at her. “You know it’s exciting for me to experience you like this.” She’s unamused, annoyed, and already drained from the week ahead of them. 

“Thank you,” Nicole fires back, giving her a smug look. “You’re going to have to tell me where it is, though.”

“No, I’m not.” 

“They’re gonna ask-”

“No, I’m not because we’re done with that question. Ah here’s another one, whose place would we stay at yours or mine- that’s easy,  _ mine. _ ” 

“And  _ why  _ wouldn’t we stay at mine?” 

“Because I live on the Upper West Side and you probably live in some squalid little studio apartment filled with weird little Marvel collectibles.” 

Nicole glares at her as she fastens her seatbelt. She lived comfortably, New York City certainly wasn’t cheap but she was getting by. 

“You’re a real piece of work, Waverly,” she snaps. 

Waverly rolls her eyes but sets down the folder in her lap. “Alright, listen. This bickering Bickerson thing has to stop. If we can’t be civil, we can’t get to know each other and if we can’t get to know each other we can’t pass this interview.” 

“Oh, that’s no problem. I can pretend to be the doting fiancée. But you?” Nicole shakes her head. “For you, it’s going to require you that stop snacking on children while they dream.” 

“Oh wow, that’s really funny,” Waverly says sarcastically. She rolls her eyes for what seems to be the hundredth time as she goes back to study the list of questions.

Nicole lets out a deep sigh and looks out the window. She decides to stop adding fuel to the fire and maybe add some water instead. 

“So, what’s your family like?” Nicole asks calmly. 

“Crazy, eccentric, off their rocker, but also really sweet, very hospitable, compassionate,” Waverly says, face still in the folder. 

“Yeah, your sister the other day on the phone was definitely… persistent.”

“That’s Wynonna,” Waverly sets the folder in her lap. “She’s stubborn, a smart ass, definitely loves to push people’s buttons. But she’s got a really big heart, not that she’d  _ ever  _ admit that, but you know what they say; actions speak louder than words,” Waverly smiles, she really did love her sisters and she missed them more than she’d like to admit. Living across the country definitely had its pros and cons. 

“You have more than one sister?” 

“Yeah, Willa. She’s the oldest. She and Wynonna are roommates. Willa’s more reserved, more classy, but she’s really sweet, really kind. She’s also really selfless, I think both her and Wynonna balance each other out.” 

“Were they born in Canada too?” 

Waverly nodded. “Yeah, we all were. Willa’s 8 years older than me and Wynonna is 6 years older than me. Willa got accepted into the University of Washington. She’s a nurse and Wynonna… Wynonna never went to college. She started as a police officer but hated everything about the system, her co-workers, her hours… so now she’s a detective with a division called Black Badge.” 

“What part of Canada are you from?” 

“Purgatory, it’s a really, really small town in Alberta.”

“How did you guys all end up in the states?”

Waverly eyes her. “You ask a lot of questions.” 

Nicole huffs and gives her a look. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Waverly sucks her teeth and continues. “Willa ended up moving to Oregon after school and Wynonna really needed a change of scenery so she moved out there too. They both love it, we’re all kinda nature freaks so it’s a nice balance between city life and cottagecore.” Waverly fiddled with the rings on her fingers. She hadn’t seen her sisters in six months and now she was bringing her so called “girlfriend” home to meet them and she knew they were going to be on her back about not telling them about her sooner. 

“Well, what about you?” Waverly asked curiously. “What about your family?” 

“Uh, well, I also have two sisters as well, we talk pretty much every day. They’re both older than me. Kortney is a year older than me so 29 and Haley is 31. Kortney is actually engaged and Haley has a 9 month old son, Graham, with her husband Matthew. I’m actually from Oregon if you didn’t know.”

“Really? Which part?”

“We live just outside of Portland in Hillsboro, my parents actually ended up moving to California because they were tired of the snow. But my sisters still live there.” 

“You said you don’t really talk to your parents?” 

Nicole winced at the thought of her parents, when Nicole had come out as gay her parents barely spoke to her. That’s why she waited until she was 18 and could leave for school. Once she was in New York, they never spoke again. 

“I’m sorry, that was nosey. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” Waverly apologized sincerely. 

“I came out as gay at 18,” Nicole continued. “The summer before I left for college. I knew they wouldn’t be accepting and I was right, which was why I waited until I was leaving for school. Once I got to Fordham I never spoke to them again.” Nicole tried to reach out, but they never returned the favor. After about a year of trying to talk to them, Nicole finally got the message. 

Waverly nods, unsure of how to take that information. “Well, I’m uh, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  
  


“Don’t worry about it, it’s in the past and I’m really thankful that my sisters and I are still so close.” 

“Well, what about your parents? What are they like?” 

Waverly sucked her teeth and turned back to face the front of the plane. “I wouldn’t really know, my dad was a drunk. He died when I was 9 from liver failure though, I don’t really remember much of him except that he was a mean alcoholic. My mom… my mom left pretty much right after I was born.”

“Shit, Waverly I’m so sorry.” 

“You don’t have to apologize. Once we started living with my Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis, life became a lot better. I mean, I wouldn’t be here now would I?” 

_ “Ladies and gentlemen we will begin our flight from JFK International Airport here in Queens, New York to Portland, Oregon. We ask that you turn off all cell phones and electronic devices and please fasten your seatbelts. Thank you for choosing United today and we hope you enjoy your flight.” _

Nicole thought to herself as they waited for the plane to take off. She had always assumed that Waverly had had a happy childhood. Waverly was so calm, so organized, so focused, so reserved. She never ever talked about her personal life, never mentioned anything that didn’t have to do with work. She always seemed content with life, she never complained about anything unless it had to do with the work. She never let her personal life and work life cross. But seeing this other side of her made Nicole think that maybe she and Waverly were more similar than she thought. 

* * *

“Oh geez,” Waverly mumbled to herself as she saw her sisters waving huge signs with her name on it. If she squinted hard enough she could see Nicole’s name written smushed under hers. 

“Waverly! Waverly’s girlfriend!” Wynonna yelled across the busy Portland airport with a huge smile on her face.

“I’m assuming those are your sisters?” Nicole asked with a smile.

“You would be correct.” Waverly let out a small sigh at the thought of having to explain all of this to her sisters. 

When they met all three let out excited squeals as Waverly was pulled into a big group hug. Her fears dissipated just a little bit now that she was finally seeing her sisters after six months. 

“We missed you!” Willa exclaimed, placing a soft kiss on her little sister’s cheek. 

“It’s been too long babygirl,” Wynonna said softly, gently squeezing her arm. 

“I know, I missed you guys too,” Waverly said with a watery smile as she pulled away. “I’m sorry I haven’t called or texted as much as I should.”

“Well, that just means we have more to catch up on,” Willa said with a smile. 

“So how’s it been in the Big Apple?” Wynonna asked, waggling an eyebrow at her. “Do you wanna introduce us to your Haught friend?”

“Wynonna!” Waverly chastised quietly. Nicole couldn’t help but crack a small smile. 

“What? That is her last name isn't it?” Wynonna smirked at her sister. 

“Hi, I’m Nicole,” she said, extending her hand and shaking both Willa and Wynonna’s. 

“Oh please, Nicole, we’re going to be family soon, no need to be so formal,” Willa said sweetly, pulling her into a big hug. Wynonna instead opted for a fist bump. 

“That’s some red ass hair you got there,” Wynonna quipped. “Is it real?” 

  
  


Nicole chuckled awkwardly, a bit aback by Wynonna’s boldness. “Yes, it’s real.” 

“Leave her be, Wy,” Willa says with a playful slap to her arm. “We’re just parked outside. When we get home we wanna hear it  _ all.  _ From the first meeting to the engagement.” 

Both Nicole and Waverly shared nervous glances as they followed Wynonna and Willa to the car. Her sisters could sniff out a lie from a mile away. So that made things about ten times harder. But they could pull it off, right? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let y'all know- there are some scenes in this fic that are exactly like the movie and some are not included at all! And there are a lot that are my own. It's a fairly loose spin on the movie! I hope you all enjoy it and enjoyed this chapter. xx
> 
> Also- any Gilmore Girls fans out there? ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. Here's another chapter for ya! This one is not in the movie at all, it's my own writing. Enjoy!

“Wait, wait, let me get this straight,” Willa said as she set down her coffee mug. “So, you’re not  _ actually  _ getting married? You haven’t even been on a date or kissed or anything?” 

“No,” Waverly said quietly. 

“This is fucking insane,” Wynonna said as she leaned against the island. 

“I know, I know. That’s what Nicole said.”

“Uh, she could literally go to jail dude. Are you feeling ok? The Waverly I know would not be this reckless,” Wynonna said, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“I know, I know it’s not like me. But I was desperate! They were either going to put Champ Hardy or Stephanie Jones in charge if I didn’t think of something.” Waverly sighed and buried her head in her hands. 

“Would that really have been that bad? I mean, it’s only a month,” Willa pointed out. 

“Yes! I mean… no? I don’t know.” 

All three ladies turned as they saw Nicole walk down the stairs with wet red hair. She was sporting some black joggers and a Fordham sweatshirt. Waverly had never seen her out of her work clothes before, she had to admit it was nice to see this side of Nicole. It was definitely weird to think about your co-workers outside of work life. 

“Hey, Nicole! Would you like a cup of coffee?” Willa asked happily.

“Uh yeah! Thanks. You don’t happen to have vanilla creamer do you?” Nicole asked as she sat down next to Waverly. 

As she sat down Waverly could smell the sweet scent of vanilla dancing under her nose “ _ Even without the coffee she still smells like vanilla _ ,” she thought to herself. 

“So, you really agreed to all this?” Wynonna asked as she eyed the red-head over the rim of her coffee mug. 

“Uh-”

“I told them,” Waverly said, looking up sheepishly at her. “I told them everything and how you agreed to fake being married to me so I could keep my visa.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Why would you do that?”

“Because they’re my sisters, they know when I’m lying.” Waverly huffs. 

“You can’t just go out blurting the truth to whoever you please. I do  _ not  _ want to go to jail!”

“Relax, Nicole,” Wynonna says calmly. “We’re, Earps. We’re great liars.” 

“So are you just… going to try and have this week to get to know as much as you can about each other?” Willa asked. 

Both of them nodded. 

“Basically,” Waverly mumbled. 

“But not tomorrow!” Wynonna said as she put her mug in the sink. “Tomorrow is in fact, my birthday,” she said with a huge smile.

“Speaking of which, what do you have planned?” Waverly asked. 

“Wynonna wanted to go to that fancy Italian restaurant in town for dinner. For the day though she wanted to hit up Salmon Falls.”

“Ugh I love Salmon Falls, I used to go there every summer with my family,” Nicole asked. 

“What’s that?” Waverly asked

“It’s a swimming hole just South of Portland in Marion County. People love to cliff jump there. I’ve been there a few times with friends, it’s really beautiful.” 

“You’re not afraid of heights are ya Red?” Wynonna asked, punching her gently in the shoulder. 

“No, no,” Nicole answered with a shake of the head. 

“Good, this should be fun!” Wynonna said excitedly as she walked out of the kitchen. 

“Was I supposed to get her something for her birthday?” Nicole asked nervously. 

Waverly laughed. “No, don’t worry about it. I got her a really nice bottle of whiskey and a fancy new wallet, I can add your name on one if you’d like.” 

Nicole nodded. Although she didn’t really know the Earps all too well she felt like she should at least do  _ something.  _ I mean, she was putting them in a bad spot asking them to lie as well. 

“Well that’s nice of you,” Waverly said quietly, taking a sip from her coffee mug. 

“Hm?”

“Getting my sister a birthday gift even though you barely know her.”

“Oh, I mean, it’s the least I could do. I mean, they’re also kinda in a bad spot with this and I just… feel like I need to do something nice.”

Waverly waved her off. “This isn’t your fault, you shouldn’t be guilty or feel obliged to do anything. If I was more careful with my visa instead of getting sucked up with work and… life we wouldn’t be here.”

“And… you know… you could’ve said no.” 

“But I didn’t,” Nicole huffed. “So I’m at fault for this, too.” 

Waverly nodded, but she didn’t have it in her to look at the redhead. 

“Do you wanna take a walk with me? Get some fresh air and just clear our heads a little bit? I’m a firm believer in nature being good for the soul.” 

Nicole nodded her head. She quickly downed the rest of her coffee before getting up from the counter. 

“There’s a nice walking trail in the back of the house,” Waverly said, throwing her hair up into a messy bun.

Nicole couldn’t help but appreciate the laid back, less formal Waverly she never saw. She honestly thought Waverly looked really good black leggings and a baggy crew neck compared to a pencil skirt and blazer that she was so used to seeing. The messy bun sat perfectly on her head as well. Definitely a change from her work hair where you could tell that it had product in it and had been curled or straightened. She thought that Waverly looked really nice this way. 

She followed Waverly out the back door and down a walking trail. They lived in a fairly small house in the suburbs of Portland. Their house could probably pass as more of a cottage than a house. They had a really nice stream running through the big backyard as well. 

Nicole has only been here for a few hours but it really made her miss home. She grew up in Oregon, she made her best friends here, had her first kiss here, had her first relationship here, she had all her firsts in this beautiful state. She loved the city, but the scenery and nature that came with Oregon was like no other. 

They walked in silence for a while, letting the crunching of dirt and twigs do the talking for them. Both of them were unsure of what to say, probably because they only ever talked about work. 

Waverly was finding that she really enjoyed Nicole’s company. She always knew Nicole was a really kind person, but she was a totally different person outside of the office. If this trip was teaching her  _ anything  _ it’s that she works too damn much. 

“Whatcha' starin' at Waverly?” 

“Huh? Oh, I just… never noticed how red your hair was,” Waverly said, heat creeping up on her cheeks. The sun shining down on them complimented Nicole’s vibrant red hair. Waverly thought she looked really pretty, she just didn’t realize she was staring. “Is it naturally that red?”

“Yep,” Nicole said as she took her hands out of her pockets. “It’s funny, my sisters and my dad have brown hair and my mom has blonde hair, so I don’t know where the red hair came from.” 

“You said your sisters still live in Oregon?”

“Yeah, in Hillsboro which is just outside of Portland. I was actually hoping we could visit them while we’re here? I haven’t really seen them in a while.” Nicole looked back down at her feet, nervous that Waverly would say no. 

“Sure. We can go on Tuesday, after my sister's birthday.” 

“Really?” Nicole asked before she could stop herself.

“Well, yeah. Why did you think I’d say no?”

“Um kinda yeah.”

“I’m not that horrible, Nicole,” Waverly mumbled. 

  
  


“Yeah says the one who never gives me any vacation time,” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Besides, you’re very hard working. And this is  _ kind of _ a work trip, in a sense. So, I just thought you’d kinda want to just stick with the plan of getting to know each other figuring this all out while we’re here. 

Waverly nodded and thought for a second before speaking. “Yeah, well I’m a hardass but we’re here now so I don’t see why not.” 

“Yeah, you are a hardass,” Nicole starts. “But you’re also 25 and editor in chief, so I guess it worked out well for you.”

“I actually skipped a grade.”

“What grade did you skip?”

“6th.”

“Pretty neat,” she says with a nod of the head. 

“So… tell me about yourself, I mean we may as well start getting to know each other.” 

“Well, what do you wanna know?”

Waverly shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you do outside of work?”

“I really like basketball, love it in fact. I used to play in high school and in college. I played point.”

“Point?”

“Point guard,” Nicole said, smiling down at Waverly. “It’s the main person that dribbles the ball up the court.” 

“Oh,” Waverly said to herself as if it should’ve been the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Not one for sports?” 

Waverly shook her head. “No, sports have never really been my thing.”

“What do you like to do then?”

“I love art… and music. I’ve always been really artistic. I love to draw and paint, abstract art is definitely my favorite. I play guitar and sing a little, too.” 

“I didn’t know that,” Nicole says quietly. “I actually tried playing the piano once but I hated it.”

“I play the piano but rarely, I’m really more of a guitar person,” Waverly says softly. “Enough about me. I’ve had a bit too much attention in the past few days than I’d like. Tell me more about yourself.” 

“Well, let’s see. I really like basketball… uh I also really love baking. I got that from my mom… I’m also a bit of a nerd and really like video games and Harry Potter,” she laughs softly at herself. 

“I always knew you were a nerd,” Waverly says with a smirk.

Nicole rolled her eyes playfully. “You caught me.” 

“What house are you?” 

“Hufflepuff. Have you read Harry Potter?”

“No,” Waverly chuckles. “Isn’t that ironic? I read books for a living but I haven’t read Harry Potter.” 

“You’ll have to read it sometime.”

“What house do you think I’d be?” 

“I think you’d definitely be a Ravenclaw,” Nicole says confidently. 

“Oh, yeah? Why?” 

“Well, Ravenclaws value intelligence, learning, wisdom, and wit. You’re definitely one of the smartest people I know. You’re creative and curious, always willing to learn. It’s honestly really admirable. You’re a Ravenclaw without a doubt.” 

They continued walking in silence, just admiring the beautiful fresh air and miles and miles of green trees and the soft rushing of water of the stream next to them. 

“This is really, really beautiful,” Nicole said in admiration. “Your sisters really did a great job picking out a place.”

“Yeah, we grew up hiking and fishing, all that nature stuff. We had a little pond and a huge rock for jumping just in the woods behind our house, we’d spend all day there during the summer.”

Nicole noticed Waverly shiver, so she took off her jacket and offered it to her, she hesitated at first, but took it and thanked her. Of course, it smelled like vanilla. 

“When they moved they knew that they wanted something like home so they chose Oregon and were able to luck out with this property. Sometimes I actually get a bit jealous,” Waverly says with a soft chuckle. 

“Jealous? Why?”

Waverly lets out a huge sigh before continuing. “Well, we grew up in a really small town in the middle of nowhere in Canada. I really needed a change of pace so I applied to Columbia University and got in, so I moved there and loved it. But now I find myself missing home, missing it here. I really love it when I visit. It's just such a nice change, it’s so beautiful, people are so much friendlier than the city, and I don’t bump into hundreds of other people when I’m trying to walk somewhere.”

“I get that feeling, I miss it here, too. I mean, I grew up here. I love hiking, I love experiencing nature like this, no one else around, no sound of car horns, people calling for a taxi, no one peeing in a cup in an alleyway,” she smiles to herself reminiscing that weird and unwanted encounter while on her way home from work. “I don’t really get to go hiking anymore or be able to walk 10 minutes to a local swimming hole in the middle of the woods. I love the city, but it’s not home.” 

Waverly nodded. “Speaking of Canada my Aunt Gus is coming up to visit as well Thursday and Friday, so you’ll get to meet her then.” 

“What about your Uncle?” 

“He died about a year ago… I miss him a lot. He encouraged me every day to do what I loved and even paid for the extra college classes I took in high school. He was the best.”

“I’m sorry, Waverly,” Nicole said softly. 

“Don’t be. He lived a good life.”

They walked some more in silence, before it probably would’ve been awkward between the two of them, but not this time. They didn’t feel the need to fill the silence, they were becoming comfortable with one another outside of work and outside of the office. Appreciating the beautiful nature around them and each other’s company was more than enough for both of them.

They continued to walk the trail for the next thirty minutes or so, sharing casual conversations with each other. Work rarely ever came up which they found both different and refreshing. They finally turned back after Waverly got a text from Willa saying they were starting dinner. 

Nicole found that she actually really enjoyed that walk with Waverly. It was like for the first time in three years they spoke to each other like actual human beings. Not robots of the working world talking strictly about work. Maybe Waverly wasn’t as bad as she thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Drop some kudos and/or comments if you're so inclined:)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise party and then meeting someone's grandmother?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to scratch chapter 4 and turn chapter 5 into chapter 4... if that makes sense lol. So now I either change the chapters from 10 to 9 or write another one. I'm open to all your suggestions and opinions, especially as we near the ending chapters. I had planned on an epilogue so maybe I just write a second epilogue? We're also heading into chapters that are exactly like the movie, with a few minor changes here and there. Hope y'all are ready!

“Done!” Nicole exclaimed as she slammed the beer can down on the counter. “I beat your ass, Wy’ onna,” she slurred. 

They had spent Wynonna's birthday swimming and cliff jumping at Salmon Falls, followed by a nice dinner, and now followed by a lot of vodka and whiskey. Overall it had been a pretty good day. 

“Pft, I let you win,” Wynonna said as she regained her balance. 

“I think,” Waverly paused to collect her thoughts, she was definitely drunk enough to have to think about the words coming out of her mouth. “I think Nicole just beat your ass, Wy.”

Willa downed another shot as pushed the bottle away from her. She was the least drunk out of them all. She was drunk but nowhere near as drunk as the three of them. 

“Had enough, Wil?” Wynonna slurred. 

“I think ‘imma just sip on some water for now.” 

“Lame,” Wynonna groaned. “So, Haughtshit got any lovers back in the city?”

“Wynonna!” Waverly gasped. “Totally, not apro- appropriate.”

Nicole ignored her and answered her anyway. “I had one serious relationship.” 

“Mm who was the lucky guy.” 

“Her name was Shae.”

“Ooh another lady lover,” Wynonna smirked. She not so subtly pointed over at Waverly. 

“Wy, will you stop! You’re embarrassin’ me,” Waverly whined her face became redder.

Nicole looked over at her surprised. _That_ was definitely a new fact she didn’t know about. 

“Well, what happened?” Wynonna asked as she downed another shot. 

“Wy, leave her alone,” Willa said. “You don’t have to talk about that, Nicole.”

Nicole shrugged as she ran her finger around the rim of her whiskey glass. “I don’t mind. More security for the questions Ms. Stick Up My Ass might ask on Monday. We were together since sophomore year of high school, we were together for almost five years. After we left for college things changed and we broke up. It was platonic. I haven’t been in any _real_ relationship in almost 2 years now.” 

“Shit, you sound like babygirl!” Wynonna exclaimed. 

“Wy, that’s enough out of you,” Willa chastised. 

“Wynonna shut it!” Waverly exclaimed, frustration clear in her voice. 

“What? Both you and Tater Haught over here have both been single little birds for a while now and now you’re both here, sounds like a love story to me.”

“Yeah and it’s embarrassing so shut up Wy,” Waverly said as she buried her head in her hands. 

Nicole placed her hand atop of Waverly’s. “Don’t feel embarrassed. I’m in the same boat as you.”

Waverly smiled softly as goosebumps erupted all over her. “Nice to know I’m not alone.”

“You’re definitely not, Waves.”

“Waves?”

“Oh, uh I heard your sisters calling you that and I guess it rubbed off on me. I don’t have to call you that if you don’t like it,” Nicole ranted, pulling her hand back. 

“I don’t really care,” Waverly said. 

“Smooth move, Haughtshit. If you don’t bone her I will,” Wynonna smirked at Waverly. 

“Alright, I think it’s time for bed,” Willa intervened, the alcohol already wearing off for her. “C’mon Wynonna,” she said she ushered her sister into her room. 

“So, only one serious relationship, huh?” Waverly asked as she grabbed some water from the fridge. 

“Yup,” Nicole took a long swig from the bottle. “What about you? I didn’t know you were, um-”

“Bi. I’m bi, but yeah, I didn’t have a super-serious relationship like you had. My longest was two years, he was nice, his name was Ryan. I’ve dated two girls except that didn’t last longer than like 6 months.” 

“Oh yeah, why not?”

“I don’t know… it just never felt… right. Don’t get me wrong I’m confident in who I am but, they just didn’t feel worth it, you know?”

“I know what you mean,” Nicole said, taking another sip of water. 

“I don’t know, maybe I need to put myself out there more. I’ve just never been able to find anyone worth dating for more than a few months. It’s been like that for years now,” Waverly mumbled. 

“Don’t feel too bad, people in New York City can be quite the pigs.”

“Yeah, good point. Well, what about you? Only a few relationships?”

“Yup. None were very serious. I’m just your regular old bloke.” Nicole said, taking a sip of her water. 

“I don’t know. Based on what I’ve seen tonight that can’t seem to be true.”

“Oh no?” Nicole asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Please you downed those shots like it was nothing. You’re bound to have some crazy stories to tell.”

“Maybe for another day,” Nicole said quietly. 

“Well Wynonna is _finally_ out for the night, so you two can hit the hay. I’ll clean up here,” Willa said, interrupting the moment. 

“Are you sure?” Nicole asked, polite as always. 

“Yeah, I didn’t have as much to drink anyway so I got it here. Goodnight you two.”

Both women said goodnight as they drunkenly made their way up the stairs, stumbling just a little bit. 

“Hey, I had fun tonight,” Nicole said as they reached the top of the stairs. 

“I did, too,” Waverly said, smiling drunkenly at the redhead. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Nicole.”

“Goodnight.” She slowly made her way back to her room, thinking about the past 24 hours. Waverly was definitely not who Nicole thought she was, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It wasn’t a bad thing at all. 

* * *

“Ugh, oh my God,” Nicole mumbled to herself as she downed a glass of water. “I haven’t gotten that drunk since college.”

“Yeah, drinking with the Earps is like a big giant frat party,” Willa said as she handed her another glass of water and a bowl of fruit. “Waverly is in the shower; she should be down soon and then you can get going to your sisters.” 

“Thanks, Willa,” Nicole said as she took another big sip from the glass. 

“Um, I just want to say sorry for Wynonna’s nosiness from last night,” Willa said softly. “She has the best intentions; it’s just sometimes her heart is bigger than her brain. She’ll probably apologize to you when she wakes up, but I just wanted to say something. I promise we’re not always like this.” 

“It’s no sweat, I really did have a lot of fun yesterday. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to just… take a break from you know, work and life and everything else,” Nicole said quietly. 

“Morning, Waves!” 

“Morning,” Waverly said groggily. “Remind me to never drink like that again.” 

“Hillsboro isn’t too far I can drive you two if you’d like,” Willa offered, handing her sister a glass of water and some fruit. 

“No, that’s ok,” Waverly said. “I’m just going to take my red Jeep. Just give me a little bit to wake up and let his hangover wear off.”

“If you changed your mind let me know?” 

Waverly nodded and smiled appreciatively at her sister. 

“So, how are you feeling?” Nicole asked.

“Probably the same as you,” Waverly muttered. “This happens every time I come and visit and every time I get a horrible hangover.”

“Wanna leave in about an hour?” Nicole chuckled as she set her bowl in the sink.

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’m going to go get ready, then.” 

Waverly watched as Nicole disappeared up the stairs. She was a little nervous about meeting her sisters. 

“Nervous for today?” Willa asked like she was reading Waverly’s mind. 

“Yeah… I mean I’m hungover and what if they don’t like me?!” Waverly rubbed her eyes out of frustration. 

“Oh please, if they’re anything like Nicole they’ll love you,” Willa said confidently.

“I mean they seem nice; based on what she was telling me anyway.” 

“Relax, babygirl. They’ll love you; I know it.”

“Ugh, I should probably shower,” Waverly groaned. “You don’t mind if I use your bathroom do you?”

Willa shook her head. “No, go right ahead. You can even use my fancy body wash in there if you’d like.

“Thanks, Wil.”

Waverly was really looking forward to washing off all the alcohol from the night before. She was hoping a nice how shower would ease the pounding headache that she had. She was also hoping that it would allow her to think about everything that happened last night… the things she could remember anyway. She was starting to really like the Nicole she was getting to know outside the office. She knew that there was still so much more to know about the redhead in order to pass the interview. Hopefully, two days with Nicole and her sisters would give her some more answers she was looking for. 

Hopefully, they kept getting along. 

* * *

“Something on your mind, Waves?” Nicole asked as Waverly stared mindlessly out of the window. 

“Uh, I guess I’m just nervous. I mean, what if your sisters don’t like me?” she asked nervously. 

“You’ll be fine,” Nicole said as she stopped at a red light. 

“Are you sure? I mean we’re literally hungover thanks to me and my sisters. I’m meeting your sisters hungover! That’s not a good first impression.” Waverly buried her head into her hands and sighed. 

“Relax. Just don’t talk about work too much; it brings the entire mood down.” 

Waverly rolled her eyes. “A bit dramatic are we?”

“No, not really.” 

Waverly decided to ignore that comment and continue. “Um, what are their names again?”

“Haley and Kortney. Haley is 31 and is married to Matthew and they have a 9-month-old son, Graham. Kortney is 29 and engaged to her high school sweetheart James. You’ll love Graham,” she said sincerely. 

“He’s your nephew, right?”

“Yeah, he’s the calmest and most adorable baby you’ll ever meet. He has the brightest blue eyes as well.” Nicole smiled at the thought of her nephew. She didn’t get to see her family often but when she did, she cherished every moment. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever held a baby before,” Waverly said quietly. 

“It’s not as hard as you might think. He’s not a fussy baby either and he loves just about everyone he meets. I’m his Godmother you know,” she said proudly. 

“I never knew you were such a family woman.”

“I am yeah,” Nicole blushed. “I just wish they were closer. I don’t really get to see them that often since I don’t get a lot of vacation time.” She eyes Waverly. 

“Oh quit complaining.” 

Nicole didn’t say anything as she pulled into a long driveway next to a fairly large house.

“This is your sister's house?” Waverly asked in disbelief. 

“Yep. Big, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah, it is,” Waverly breathed out. 

“Nicole! Waverly!” a tall brunette welcomed at the front door with a baby in her hands. She assumed that was Haley. “Please come in.”

Haley pulled Nicole in for a big hug the moment the door shut. The baby in her hands squealed in excitement as she reached out for the redhead.

Nicole furrowed her brows at the sight of a crowd in her sister’s house, all conversing, eating horderves, and sipping on champagne and beer. 

“Uh, wow!” Nicole said in shock as she took Graham in her arms. “What uh, what is this?” 

“Oh, just a little welcoming party for you and Waverly. Just 50 of our closest friends and neighbors and _all_ excited to meet you.” 

“Babysis!” a curly-headed brunette exclaimed as she walked up to her pulling Nicole into another hug. “You made it!”

“Yep! Here I am,” Nicole said softly as she pulled away. She turned her attention to the baby in her arms who was playing with her hair. “Hey, little man! Auntie Cole has missed you so much!” She grinned widely at her nephew as she pressed a kiss to his temple. 

“You must be Waverly.” Haley smiled and pulled her into a hug as well. “Nicole has told me a lot about you.”

“All good things I hope,” Waverly said with a chuckle. 

“All good things, I promise.”

“I’m Kortney,” the curly-haired brunette said as she pulled Waverly into a hug.

Seconds later in came a puppy, a white fluff ball, yapping at their feet. 

“Oh my goodness who are you?!” Nicole asked excitedly as knelt down and scratched the puppy’s ears. 

Waverly smiled as she gently patted the side of his stomach.

“That’s Charlie, we rescued him from the pound just a few months ago,” Haley explained. “Just be sure not to let him outside alone, the eagles will snatch him.”

“Come on in, the parties just getting started!” Kortney said as she led them into the party. 

Nicole and Waverly exchanged nervous glances as they followed their sisters into the crowd of people, people Waverly didn’t know at all and people Nicole barely knew. 

This should be a fun night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends, hope you enjoyed this chapter. We have an exciting few chapters coming up, so stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party, a story, and... a kiss?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was by far my favorite chapter to write. I really hope you all enjoy it. You may notice some similarities between the movie and the fic! 
> 
> TW: mentions of homophobia

“Nicole, you remember Bunny Loblaw from my firm, don’t you?” Haley asked as she pulled her little sister aside. 

Under any other circumstances, Nicole wouldn’t have cared at all about a party like this. Unfortunately, their circumstances were anything other than ordinary. 

“Of course, it’s nice to see you again, Bunny,” Nicole said, letting herself be pulled into a hug. 

“I can’t believe you’re getting married! That must be so exciting! I’m so happy for you both, truly. I met Waverly just a few minutes ago, and all I have to say is you’re a lucky girl,” she said earnestly. Bunny couldn’t be older than 60 and had dyed blonde hair. She was the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet and treated everyone she met like her grandchildren. 

“I am, I really am, thank you,” she said with a smile, looking over to see Waverly conversing happily with someone Nicole vaguely remembered. 

“I do wonder where your parents are, Nicole,” an older gentleman quipped. 

“Oh shut it, Ralph,” Bunny chastised, hitting his chest lightly. “Please don’t mind my husband.”

“Well, I’m just saying dear,” he explained. 

“My parents live in California now,” Nicole said tightly, trying to de-escalate the situation. “They’ve actually been very busy with the vineyard they have now.”

“Yes, I see… well, you think they would’ve called by now, don’t you?” he said hostilely. 

“Ralph, shut it.”

“Is everything ok?” Waverly said she walked up to the three of them, gently placing her hand on the small of Nicole’s back before returning it to her side. 

“Oh yes, dear, everything is just fine. My husband was just going to get us some more wine.” She narrowed her eyes at the older gentlemen, her lips pressed together in frustration. 

“Well, I was just pointing out how Nicole’s parents aren’t here. I mean, you’ve practically announced your… _engagement_ to the world now, and you haven’t gotten not one call or text from Nicole’s parents about it,” he said belligerently, subtle amusement in his voice. 

“As I said, they’re busy in California,” Nicole said, clenching her jaw. 

“They were supposed to give you the family business weren’t they?” he pressed. “But then you decided to run off and read _books_ for a living. And _then_ you decided to become a _lesbian._ You haven’t talked to them in nearly 10 years; they’re not busy. They’ve just come to their senses, unlike you two and the rest of the people at this party.” 

“That’s enough, Ralph,” Bunny said angrily, voice low and dangerous. “I’m so sorry about my husband, girls. Please don’t pay any attention to him.” She turned back to her husband and quickly ushered him away towards the wine bottles.

“Oh, um, that’s ok, Bunny. Don’t worry about it,” Nicole assured, she was lying but didn’t want her to feel too bad about it. She clearly was not her husband, after all. 

"He’s very old-fashioned, and I’m constantly trying to remind him the world is different nowadays.” She shook her head in disappointment. “He promised me he would keep his mouth shut, I told him he wouldn’t enjoy this party very much, but he insisted on coming. Anyways congratulations, you two.” She smiled and squeezed their hands gently before walking away back into the crowd. 

Nicole unclenched her jaw and let out a huge sigh. She closed her eyes as she tried to make sure that she didn't let this rude older gentleman get the best of her. She didn’t say anything to Waverly and instead walked away towards the bar area, pouring herself a glass of whiskey and downing it in one sip. 

“Nicole?” a familiar voice called out. 

“Nana?! Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?” Nicole said with a smile as she hugged her grandmother tightly. 

“Haley told me you were coming to visit and about your engagement, and you know I wouldn’t miss it for the world! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet your girl. Congratulations, Nicky. I’m so happy for you!”

“You know I don’t like to be called Nicky anymore,” Nicole chuckled. 

“Ah right, well, in my eyes, you’ll always be the 10-year kid who got her two front teeth knocked out playing softball.”

Grandma Betty was in her 80s but still kicking it like she was 60 years old. Her white curly hair was still the same as always. Nicole’s grandmother was on her mother’s side and seemed to be the only one in her family beside her sisters that understood her and accepted her for who she truly was. When Nicole had come out to her, she was nothing but accepting. She was the only family member besides her sisters that would still talk to her. 

“Hey, so where’s your girl?” 

“Uh, she’s over there. Hey, Waverly!” Nicole motioned for her to come over. 

“I guess the word _girl_ is inappropriate,” she mumbled upon seeing her in washed-out pink jeans, a lacey grey top, a beige sweater, and sporting wedges.

“Nana, this is my fiancée, Waverly. Waverly, this is my grandmother.” 

“Well, hello there! Now, do you prefer the term Waverly or Satan’s Mistress? We’ve heard it both ways.” She chuckled. 

Waverly stood there in shock as she glanced between Nicole and her grandmother. _What_ has Nicole been telling her family? 

“She’s kidding,” Nicole assures with an airy laugh. 

“Oh! Oh, ok,” Waverly exhales and forces a smile. 

“It’s so nice to meet the girl who’s making my granddaughter so happy,” she says sweetly as she pulls Waverly into a hug. 

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Waverly said with a warm smile. 

“I can’t believe you kept this from the family!” 

“I know, we really wanted to keep it on the down-low. You know how it’ll look once everyone finds out we’re dating,” Nicole explained. 

“Have you guys thought about the wedding yet?” she asked excitedly. 

They both shook their heads. 

“No, we haven’t thought about it yet. Something small, though,” Waverly said. 

“Well, if you ever need any help planning the wedding _please_ don’t hesitate to call me,” she smiles and turns to Waverly. “Nicky knows I love that sort of stuff.” 

“Nicky?” Waverly asked with a smirk and raised eyebrows. 

“Just an old nickname from when I was a kid. Just please don’t call me that." 

“I better go find your sisters before they start yelling at me for picking favorites,” Betty winked, squeezing Nicole’s hand. “It was lovely meeting you, Waverly.”

“She seems nice,” Waverly said softly. 

“She is; she’s really amazing. She’s the only one besides my sisters who’s accepted me for who I am. She’s always been there for me, especially after I came out to my parents.” 

“I’m glad you had someone there for you,” she said sincerely. 

“Nicole?” 

“Shae?” Nicole asked in shock as she turned to see her ex-girlfriend walking towards her. “Oh my gosh, hi!” 

Shae smiled as she hugged Nicole tightly. 

“Wow, um, I had no idea you were going to be here,” Nicole said as they pulled away.

“Well, your sister messaged me telling me about tonight, and she said she thought it should be a surprise… so surprise!” 

She smiled at Shae, still trying to process the fact that she was here at the party. They hadn’t seen each other in years. They ended on good terms, but after they broke up, they didn’t talk much. The most talking they did was liking each other’s Instagram posts. 

“So, this must be Waverly?” 

“Uh, right! Waverly, this is uh-”

“Shae.”

“Right, Shae, this is Waverly.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Waverly,” Shae said kindly as she shook her hand. 

“You too,” she responded softly with a smile. “And congratulations on the engagement! So, did I miss the story?”

“Um, what story?”

“The story of how you two met!” 

“Oh, the story of how one proposes tells a lot about their character,” Betty said from the couch. 

“I’d love to hear that story,” Kortney said as she walked over. “I actually haven’t heard it yet.”

“Oh yeah, you guys, you have to share!” Shae said happily as she looked between the two of them. 

“Of course!” Nicole said, forcing enthusiasm. “You know what, Waverly _loves_ telling the story, so I’ll just go ahead and let her do that.” 

“Wow, um, where to begin,” Waverly says, eyeing Nicole as a million thoughts raced in her head. “Well, Nicole and I were about to celebrate our first anniversary together. I knew she’d been itching to ask me to marry her, and she was _scared_ , like a baby bird.” She glances over at the redhead, who’s clearly not amused. 

“So I started leaving subtle hints because I knew she wouldn’t have the guts to ask.”

“Yeah, that’s not _exactly_ how it happened,” Nicole interjected. 

Waverly tilts her head and raises her eyebrows at Nicole. “No?”

“No,” she says with a shake of the head. “This woman is about as subtle as a gun.”

That elicits a chuckle from the crowd. 

“I was worried that she was going to find this little box-”

“Oh, the decoupage box that she made! She took the time out to cut out tiny little pictures of herself and pasted them all over the box.” 

Nicole gives the nod and forces a tight-lipped smile to her sisters and grandmother smiling up at her from the couch. 

“So I opened the box and out fluttered out these tiny little hand-cut heart confetti. Once they cleared, I saw this big, beautiful-”

“Fat nothing,” Nicole interrupts. “Nothing, no ring. Inside that box, underneath all that crap, there was a handwritten note with the address of a hotel, time, and date.” She looks back down at her grandmother. “Real Humphrey Bogart type stuff. Naturally Waverly-” 

“I thought she was seeing someone else.” Waverly nodded. 

Nicole turns her head and glares back at Waverly.

“But I went to that hotel anyway, I went and pounded on the door, but it was already unlocked. As I swung open the door there, she was-” 

“Standing.”

“Kneeling,” she says smugly. “On a bed of rose petals in a suit. She choked back soft, soft sobs. When she finally caught her breath, she asked-”

“Waverly, will you marry me, there the end!” Nicole rushes. “Who’s hungry?”

“Wow,” Haley says with an exhale. “That was quite the story.”

“Oh, Nicky, you’re so sensitive!” Nana says happily.

“Hey, let’s see a kiss between you two lovebirds!” a guy near the fireplace demands. 

“Oh, uh, ok,” Nicole mumbles as she grabs Waverly’s hand and places a quick kiss on the top of it. 

Unfortunately, their so-called “public display of affection” wasn’t enough because the crowd started chanting. 

“Kiss her on the mouth! As you mean it!” he demands again, the chanting and cheering only getting louder. 

“Ok!” Nicole hastily agrees. She turns to Waverly and leans in, placing a kiss that lasted no longer than a second on her lips. 

“Oh, come on, Nicole,” Kortney groaned. “ _I_ could kiss her better than that.”

Nicole internally groans as she turns back to Waverly, who’s looking up at her nervously. She softens her features and gently wraps an arm around her waist. She leans in slowly and connects their lips, bringing her hand up to cup the brunette's cheek. Their bodies mold together with ease as the loud cheering of the crowd gets quieter and quieter. A burn pools in her stomach as every cell in her body burned in anticipation. 

Waverly feels herself getting warmer, and the butterflies in her stomach were raging and dissipating at the same time. Her lips parted deeper, inviting Nicole in as she brought her hand to her neck like it was instinct. Her lips were incredibly soft, and she kissed her gently and slowly, not rough and sloppy like she had been used to. The strong scent of vanilla made her head spin. 

Nicole’s arm wraps tighter around Waverly before she pulls away softly. They stare at each other in shock. Nicole was in awe, and she was pretty sure Waverly looked a little awed as well. 

Quickly the loud cheering and whistling of the crowd flood back in as Waverly and Nicole are pulled from their own thoughts. 

Something changed; they weren’t sure what, but everything felt different, and nothing felt the same. 

Waverly tries to breathe.

She can’t. 

* * *

That night, Waverly laid in bed, and Nicole laid on the floor with a pillow and blanket, both women staring at the ceiling in silence with the soft crackling of the fire in the background. Both were still in awe of what happened just hours earlier, and neither knew what to say. 

“So,” Waverly said softly, cutting through the tension that was in the air. “That was… quite the party.” 

Nicole nodded, the words getting stuck in her throat. “Yeah,” she croaked. “It was.” 

“That guy was persistent.”

“Yeah, he was,” Nicole said awkwardly. 

“Was Shae, um the girl from-” 

“From school? Yeah, she was.” 

The room falls silent for a few seconds, more tension rising in the air. 

“Your sisters have quite the friends,” Waverly said, biting her lip nervously. 

Nicole lets out a small laugh. “More than 50% of the people there tonight were not their friends. Just co-workers they’re hospitable towards.”

“Well, I liked them; you’re family and friends are very nice,” Waverly said honestly. “Speaking of family… what was Ralph talking about? You know with your parents?”

“Hm, I’m sorry, but that one’s not in the binder.” 

“But I thought we needed to learn-” Waverly presses.

“Not about that.” Nicole cuts in sharply.

“But what if she asks-”

“Not about that, Waverly, goodnight,” Nicole snaps, ending the conversation right there and then. 

Waverly lets out a small sigh, and she nervously plays with the bedsheet. Normally she would’ve let it go, but she can’t. She’s not sure what it is- the day, her feelings, or the fact that she just wants to make Nicole feel better. They've been getting along pretty well so far, so why stop now? 

“I like the Discovery Channel,” she says quietly. 

“What?”

“I also really enjoy National Geographic. I think that stuff is really cool. I love going to art galleries and museums. I love music festivals. My first concert was Avril Lavigne. I haven’t slept with anyone in close to two years now,” she huffs a laugh. “When I was a kid, I was super obsessed with Elvis Presley. I had posters on my wall and magazines and record players with many of his albums and singles. I still really love his music.” 

Nicole lays there and listens, not saying a word. 

“Every Christmas I like to make paintings and give them as presents. My sisters love it, probably why you see hundreds of paintings hung up in their house. Uh, I’m actually pretty sensitive. I know I give a tough exterior at the office… but truthfully, anything remotely sad makes me tear up. The tattoo… it’s an elephant on my ribs. I got it after I got back from a two week trip in Thailand.” She swallows and bites her lip nervously, still playing with the bedsheet. “I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can think of for now.” 

Waverly lays there, unknowingly holding her breath as she waits for a response. She had never been so open with someone she barely knew before. She never let others see her true self-the self that she’s only buried deeper and deeper over the past 7 years. Ever since she got to New York City, it's been school work, graduation, getting her masters, and then straight into the working world- working a job she loved but was also starting not to love. 

So that made it hurt just that much more when Nicole didn’t say anything. 

“You there?”

“I’m here,” Nicole assures. “Just… processing. You really haven’t slept with anyone in that long?”

Waverly rolls her eyes. “Oh my God, out of everything I said, that’s all you got?” 

“No! No, I just-” Nicole chuckles. “That’s a long time.”

“Well, I’ve uh, I’ve been a little busy.” Waverly twiddles her fingers nervously. “Too busy playing Satan’s Mistress, I guess.” 

Nicole winces a little. She’s spent the past few days getting to know Waverly. The _real_ Waverly, not the work side of her that she already knew. “People at the office don’t think that of you… they do think that you’re a pretty hard boss to impress. And a boss who has high expectations and gives a lot of work-” she frowns. “So I guess maybe a little Satan’s Mistress-y.” 

“Yeah, it’s ok, we all know it.” Waverly knows it’s true, so there was no point in disagreeing. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure.”

“Sometimes I wish that I went to art school… or didn’t go to school at all.” Waverly sighs. “Sometimes I wish that I owned an art studio and sold art… or had one of those paint bars. I don’t know. I just find myself constantly daydreaming about what my life would be like if I weren’t working in publishing.” 

“Really?” Nicole’s a little surprised. She had not once had a thought that Waverly was unhappy with her job. 

“Yeah. I know it seems like I love my job since I’m such a hardass at work. But sometimes… sometimes I really hate it. I feel like I only went to school and majored in English because I was doing what everyone else wanted me to do.” 

Waverly often wondered what her life would’ve been like if she went down the art path of making and selling. She loved reading, but she had always loved art more. But everyone told her that art wasn’t a sufficient enough job and to go to college and get a degree in something ‘useful,’ so that’s what she did. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of your art. I certainly didn’t know you were _that_ into it. I’ve always just assumed you liked being an editor.” 

“I don’t talk about it much… mainly because I’m embarrassed by it. I know it’s stupid, but people just do not take you seriously when you tell them your an artist or a musician… or anything that’s deemed as an ‘unstable job’ by society.” 

“I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it's important to do what you love. It’s never too late to pursue what you’re passionate about. And for what it’s worth- I daydream about a different life, too. I’ve daydreamed about moving back home and getting a place like your sisters. I love the city, I really do, but it’s not home.” Nicole lets out a deep sigh. 

“What do you dream about?”

“Owning a bakery.” 

“Really?” Waverly asks in shock. “Baking?”

“I love baking, used to anyway. I loved making pastries and baking bread. I used to do it with my mom all the time growing up. That actually has to do with what Bunny’s husband was talking about at the party. My parents owned a bunch of family businesses in Portland. It ranged from general stores to clothing stores, to pharmacies, and even a few restaurants. When they moved, they handed it to a close family friend, but they had always wanted me to take over the family business. I never wanted to, and I always told them that. It caused a lot of tension in the house. And with me being the youngest, my two sisters were away at college a lot, so it was just my parents and me a majority of the time.” 

Nicole inhaled deeply as she reminisced on the last few years she had with her parents. Those years were filled with a lot of fighting, tension, and stress. Her parents were constantly pressuring her to take over the family business. They haven’t spoken in years, and it hurt Nicole to know that the past few years they were speaking was filled with turmoil. 

“I had secretly always wanted to open my own bakery,” Nicole continued. “But I was scared of how my parents would react if I told them that I wanted to bake for a living. I still went into publishing, just with an insane amount of pressure from my parents to major in business,” she mumbled. “I mean clearly, I never took over the family business like they wanted me to. And then when I came out… that was like the nail in the coffin.” 

Nicole sighs. “After I left home, I would daydream about dropping out of Fordham and opening a bakery. I technically could’ve since we weren’t talking, and they didn’t bother to check up on me, but I think I was hoping that if I went and graduated and could show them I was doing just fine alone in New York City, they’d reach out. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.” 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Waverly said softly. “I know what it feels like to feel like you’re never enough. When my mom left after I was born, I was constantly wondering if it was because of me.” 

“It wasn’t because of you,” Nicole said quietly but confidently. 

Waverly laughed in doubt. “How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve known you for three years now, but I feel like I’m finally getting to know _you._ Just 5 days ago, all I knew about you was that you went to Columbia University and had a sister. I realize we both have a lot more in common than I thought we did. We both have shitty parents, we both have sisters, we both feel like we’re craving more from life. I feel like I’ve finally made a friend from New York. Your mom didn’t leave because of you, Waverly.” 

Nicole was earnest; she meant what she said. Things were different between them, a good different. She just wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. 

“Thank you,” Waverly whispers. There were those butterflies again. 

“Waverly?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, ok?” 

Waverly closes her eyes and steadies herself. “Ok.” 

“You are a very, _very_ beautiful woman.”

Waverly opens her eyes and stares at the ceiling. Nicole’s words hit her like a truck. It makes her feel warm while simultaneously making her heart race. She feels herself soften. She hasn’t felt like this in a long time. No one has ever been this open with her. She wants to say something. She really does. She just can’t. 

“Elvis, huh?”

“Yeah,” Waverly said quietly. “I know it’s old school, but I really do love his music. I’m also a huge Billy Joel fan, and I love The Beatles. I wonder if I was supposed to be born in the 60s so I could be a hippie,” she laughed. 

“Do you like any pop music?” 

“Well, I do like John Mayer, and there are a few songs on the radio I don’t think are too bad, but I mainly stick with my old people's music.”

Nicole smiles as she imagines Waverly bell-bottom jeans. She could definitely see her in round sunglasses and a flower crown. 

“Wise men say, only fools rush in…” 

Nicole’s attempt at singing in a low, drawled voice like Elvis makes Waverly laugh. 

“But I can’t help falling in love with you.”

“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?” Waverly mumbles.

They sing the next line together, a little out of key and more giggles than actual singing. 

“If I can’t help falling in love with you?”

“Ah, I can’t sing that low,” she says, clearing her throat. 

Waverly giggles, smiling to herself like an idiot. 

“I could keep going,” she offered. 

“No, that’s ok,” she laughs. “That was good. Thank you.”

Nicole smiles. “Goodnight, Waverly.”

“Goodnight, Nicole.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you haven't noticed, I've decided to go and change the spacing, just to for myself to write more so they're longer with for you guys. With scratching chapter 4 and deciding to change up the spacing I'm wanting to go back and rewrite some things. Classes start back up for me next week but I'm going to try to have up chapters consistently for you guys.  
> 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Leave some kudos and some comments, share with friends, family, etc- it's much appreciated:) Till next time my friends!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all your comments and love the feedback, they brighten my day. Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

_“Knock, knock! Breakfast for the happy couple!”_ said Betty from outside the bedroom door. 

“Nicole,” Waverly whispered. 

“Nicole!” she whispered louder. 

“Nic-” she instead grabbed a pillow and hurled it right at Nicole, hitting her right in the face. 

“Your grandmother is at the door! Get up here!” 

“Oh God,” Nicole says with a hoarse morning voice as she quickly gets up and throws the blanket and pillow she was using onto the bed. 

“Just a second!” Waverly calls out. 

_“Is everything alright?”_

“Oh yes, everything is fine! Here, just- just hold me, ok?”

Nicole nods as her barely awake brain is trying to process the chaos that is going on at 8 in the morning. She leans back against the headboard swiftly wraps her arm around Waverly’s waist and pulls her close, noting that she smells of sweet cinnamon and apples. 

Waverly leans back against her and places her hand on Nicole’s. Of course, she smells like vanilla. Her touch sends shivers down her spine. 

They both squirm into a somewhat comfortable, but totally believable cuddling position. 

“Come in!” Waverly exclaims.

In comes Nana, with a huge smile on her face with a tray full of cinnamon buns and coffee- Nicole’s favorite. 

“Oh wow,” Nicole exhales. “Smells good, Nana!”

“You didn’t have to go through that trouble,” Waverly says sweetly as Betty places the tray on the bedside table. 

“Oh don’t be silly, you’re family now it's no trouble,” she says as she opens the curtains wider. 

“Hey, got room for two more?” Haley asked as she and Kortney stood at the door. 

“Oh, can we not have the Brady Family meeting right now? We just woke up,” Nicole said. 

“So,” Haley continued ignoring her little sister. “We were talking and Nana had this great idea to-”

“To have the wedding here this weekend in the barn!” Nana interrupted. 

Nicole’s arm tightened around Waverly’s waist. 

“Um, I- uh,” Nicole nervously laughs as her face scrunches up in confusion. “What?”

“Well you’re already going to be getting married anyway and that way we can all be together tomorrow, _here_ at home as a family, and that way Nana can be a part of it,” Haley explained. 

Nicole shook her head. “No, that’s not a good idea. What about Waverly’s family? On such short notice? What if they can’t make it? We can’t just have a wedding without her family.” 

“Actually,” Kortney interrupted. “We talked to Waverly’s sisters. Haley found them on Facebook- y’ know real stalker-y like,” she mumbles. “And they agreed and said that her aunt is flying down tomorrow to visit… so it works out.” She smiles excitedly at them. “They’re driving down later today.” 

“Uh I mean are you sure?” Waverly asked nervously. “It’s so last minute we couldn’t ask you to host something so… big.”

“We’re sure,” Haley says confidently. “Your wedding day should be as less stressful as possible. We’d be honored to do this for you.” 

“Oh so you’ll do it?!” Nana asks excitedly, a grin plastered across her face. 

Nicole and Waverly stare wide-eyed back at her. 

“Before I’m dead?”

That definitely got everyone’s attention. 

“Ok,” Nicole says with forced enthusiasm. “Ok.” 

“Ok,” Waverly repeated, forcing a smile. 

Betty squeals in excitement as wide grins form on Haley and Kortney’s face. 

“We’ll do everything! You won’t have to worry about a _thing,”_ Betty said. “Oh, this is amazing! I get to be a part of your wedding! Oh gosh, I must give thanks I must!” She quickly turned around in an excited haze and walked out of the bedroom. 

“Well we should probably let you two be,” Haley said as she tapped Kortney’s shoulder. 

“Chin up, babysis. Let _us_ worry about the wedding details ok?” Kortney said kindly. 

Nicole nodded as both of them walked out of the room. “Oh my God. When my sisters find out this is all a sham they’re going to be crushed and my grandmother’s gonna _die._ ”

“They’re not going to find out,” Waverly reassures. 

“What the hell was that? What were they thinking?! That having the wedding tomorrow was a good idea?” Nicole buries her head into her hand in frustration. She can feel a giant wave of stress wash over her. “Oh God, Waverly!” 

“Nicole,” Waverly says softly. “They’re not going to find out, ok?”

Nicole feels Waverly’s hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently before running up and down the sides of her arm in comfort. Waverly rubs small circles on her shoulders and biceps. She can feel the brunette’s warm breath on her neck. 

“It’s gonna be ok, Nicole,” Waverly mumbles. “It’s not like we’re going to be married forever. We’ll be happily divorced before you know it.”

Her words were comforting, sure, but it was Waverly’s touch that made her feel better, it was her touch. Her touch made her melt. She had to keep herself from throwing herself into Waverly’s arms. 

“Right, yeah,” Nicole breathes. She’s too scared to meet Waverly’s eyes. She’s scared that whatever _feeling_ is in the air suffocating her right now, she’ll end up doing something she’ll regret. Like kiss her. 

“I’ll get us some coffee,” Waverly says as she quickly gets off the bed. “So would you like your cappuccino with two shots of vanilla and sweet cream cold foam?” 

Nicole chuckles as she plays with the bedsheets, still unable to look at Waverly. 

“You’re right,” she breathes out. “Everything will be fine. We’ll get married then get a quick divorce and that’ll be that.” 

“You like these, right?’ Waverly asked as she eyed the plate of cinnamon rolls. 

Nicole looked up at Waverly, really _looked_ at her. What she sees makes her heart race and the world stop around her. It’s so trivial, Waverly in short pajama shorts and a blank tank top pouring hot coffee in a white mug. Yet it’s all so beautiful at the same time; _she’s_ so beautiful. 

“I do,” she just barely gets out, her words getting caught in her throat. “They’re my favorite. Well, one of my favorites. Second to donuts.”

Waverly raised an eyebrow. “What kind of donuts?”

“Vanilla dipped.” 

Waverly’s eyes widened as she walked over to the bed with a coffee in one hand and a plate full of cinnamon rolls in the other. 

Nicole takes the mug full of hot coffee and places it on the bedside table next to her. She turns back around to reach for the plate but realizes they’re leaning in close. She wants to kiss her, she wants to lean forward and connect their lips, except for real this time and not to please a bunch of guests she barely knows. 

“Um, I think I’m going to go,” Waverly said as she quickly got off the bed. 

“Everything ok?” 

“Yeah. I just need some fresh air. I should probably call my sisters. Um, I’m gonna go get ready for the day.” 

Nicole nodded as she watched Waverly head into the bathroom. She lets out a deep sigh before shoving a cinnamon roll into her mouth, hoping the sugary breakfast will help her think straight. 

* * *

“What the hell you two?!” Waverly exclaimed angrily into her phone as she paced back and forth in the backyard. 

_“What?”_ Wynonna asked innocently. 

“You know what! I can’t believe you agreed to this wedding! You know the shit situation we’re in! You guys are my sisters, you're supposed to have my back.”

 _“We’re sorry!”_ Wynonna apologized. _“We said no at first but they kept pushing! It’s like they’re lawyers or something they argued really fucking well.”_

Waverly rolled her eyes. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

_“Uh, marry her?”_

_“Hey baby girl it’s going to be alright, you two have been getting along great since you’ve been here,”_ Willa said. _“It’ll be over and done with before you know it.”_

“Aunt Gus is coming! She can’t keep a secret to save her life!” Waverly groans. 

_“We’ll keep her distracted for most of the ceremony,”_ Willa offers. 

_“Hey, how was the party last night?”_ Wynonna asked. 

“What? This is not the issue at hand right now!”

_“So was it shit, did it suck? Or was it the best party you’ve ever been to? All your text said was ‘party!’ with a skull emoji, an angry emoji, and a crying emoji.”_

“The party was fine,” Waverly said quietly, remembering the kiss she and Nicole had shared. 

_“Anything interesting happen?”_ Willa asked. 

Waverly thought about whether or not she should tell them what happened. Mainly because she knew it’d force her to confront her feelings and secondly they would never shut up about it. 

_“Your silence is pretty loud there, Waves.”_

_“Spill it babygirl!”_ Wynonna exclaimed. 

“Um, well, Nicole and I… we uh, we kissed.” Waverly winced, bracing herself for whatever reaction she was going to get. 

_“Wait, you kissed Nicole!?”_ Willa asked in shock. 

_“Damn Waves, you move fast!”_ Wynonna quipped. _“What was it like?”_

“I don’t know!” Waverly sighed. “I mean… it was nice. Her lips were really soft… she also smelled like vanilla dipped donuts.” She laughed, at this point, she was positive vanilla dipped donuts were just coursing through Nicole’s veins. “But it was in front of her sisters and like 50 of their friends. It was not how I expected the night to go.” 

_“Well, how do you feel about it?”_ Willa asked.

“I don’t know,” Waverly said quietly. “It was definitely different from any other kiss I’ve ever had.”

She really didn’t know how to feel. It had been a constant whirlwind of emotions since she kissed Nicole. 

_“You like her, don’t you?”_

Waverly stopped in her tracks. Ever since they kissed things had not been the same. She saw Nicole differently… in a new light. It was all so confusing and so incredibly scary at the same time. She thought Nicole was beautiful, gorgeous even. She was sweet, kind, selfless, and she always made her smile. She had never felt like this with anyone before. 

“I, uh-” 

She was pulled from her thoughts at the yapping coming from Charlie, the family dog that was now being lifted into the air by a hungry eagle. 

“I- shit! I gotta go.” She quickly hangs up the phone and runs after the eagle. “You stupid fucking bird! Give me that dog back!” she screams. “You get back here right now!” She can’t let this damn bird steal the dog, Nicole’s family will most definitely hate her if that happens. “You shit ticket just give me the dog!” 

As if the bird could understand her, the bird immediately dropped the small puppy and Waverly practically dive bombed to catch the poor thing. The eagle wasn’t done though, she seemed to have let go of the phone in the process because the bird snatched that too and quickly flew away. 

“Waverly!” Nicole called out. “What the hell are you doing?” She’s definitely amused. 

“You’re grandmother was right! I was on the phone with my sisters and the eagle came and snatched the dog right up.”

Nicole squinted at her. “Are you drunk?”

“What? No!” she bent down and let the dog run back inside, keeping a very close eye on him. “He dropped the dog but then took my phone!” 

“Relax. I'll call in for a new and we'll go into town tomorrow and get you a new phone, same number and everything. What model iPhone did you have?” Nicole asked, pulling out her own phone. 

“I had one of the newer models. 12 Pro Max.”

Nicole scoffed as she ordered a new phone for her, of course, Waverly had the newest and biggest iPhone there was. “You’re going out with the girls today.” 

“What? I don’t want to go out with the girls,” Waverly groaned. “Why aren’t you going?

“Oh, top classified girl stuff. Dress shopping, sightseeing, spending the day with my sisters- should be fun.” She smirks. 

“I don’t want to do that.”

“Just do it, your sisters will be here later tonight, alright? Now give me a hug, we don’t want them to think we’re fighting,” Nicole says, glancing up at Haley and Betty smiling and giggling at them through the porch windows. 

Waverly groans as she lets herself be pulled into a hug. Her chin rests on Nicole’s shoulder as her back is caressed by gentle fingers. Being hugged by Nicole… wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad at all. She pulls away, not wanting that moment to become an actual _moment_. 

Nicole gives Waverly a firm pat on the ass she walks by, earning her a yelp and a cold glare from the brunette. She can’t help but laugh. 

* * *

“Oh fun fact about me,” Nicole reaches around to grab the Pringles can from the shelf. “I love Pringles. Top 5 favorite foods right there. You know anything Hostess- Ding Dongs, Little Debbie Cakes, oh I also love beef jerky and oh my gosh,” she clutches her heart as if she’s about to faint. “I _love_ chicken nuggets. Like I love them.” 

Waverly scoffs. “Ugh, what are you, thirteen?” 

“At heart yes. Hey Jeremy! You have the phone I ordered?” 

“Hey, Nicole! I do, I have it right here” Jeremy answered, pulling a box out from under the counter. He had dark curly hair, was fairly short, and was also pretty slim. 

“Thanks, buddy,” Nicole said as she handed the phone to Waverly. 

“Who’s this?”

“This is Waverly, my fiancée.”

“Wow, congratulations! I didn’t know you were getting married! Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Waverly,” he said, shaking her hand excitedly. 

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“Thanks, Jer. I’ll see you soon?” 

“You know it!” 

“You seem to be quite the popular girl around here,” Waverly noted as they walked out of the store. “That’s the third person we’ve run into that knows you.” 

“Well, I used to grow up here.” 

“I guess but-” 

“My parents owned a bunch of businesses, remember?” Nicole says with a smile. “Everyone knew my parents, my parents were really great people… to everyone but me I guess… but anyway they were really well known. And I guess that reputation passed onto us.” 

“Yeah, I-” 

“Oh, there they are!” Betty exclaimed. “Waverly! Nicole!” 

“Oh boy,” Nicole exhaled. 

“Sorry, Nicky, but we’re going to have to steal your girl away for a little while here,” Betty said as she gently took Waverly’s arm in hers. 

“Dress shopping!” Haley said excitedly. 

“We’ll pick up your suit while we’re at it,” Kortney said. “We’ll see you in a few!” 

Nicole smiled to herself as she watched Waverly walk away with her sisters and her grandmother. Even though they weren’t _really_ marrying each other it was really nice to see them getting along like they were really going to be family in just 12 hours. 

* * *

“Um, I’m not so sure about this dress,” Waverly says hesitantly as she looks it over in the mirror. 

“Oh, I know you look amazing!” Betty said happily. “My mother made this dress by hand in 1929. Haley wore it to her wedding, Kortney will wear it to hers, and you’re wearing it to yours!” 

“Don’t worry about the fit,” Haley reassured. 

“Yeah, Nana’s a great tailor,” Kortney said. 

Waverly walked out of the dressing room, forcing a wide smile on her face. “It’s uh, maybe a tad loose in certain areas.”

“Ah yes, well I happen to be a bit chesty to begin with,” she says crassly. “Alright… now let’s see if we can find your boobs.” 

Waverly chuckles nervously as she feels Betty’s hands playing with the dress and tightening in certain areas. 

“Ah, here they are. Now let’s make this absolutely perfect.”

Haley and Kortney sat on the couch in the corner, looking a little bored while they watched their grandmother tailor the dress Waverly was in. 

“Why don’t you girls go make yourselves a cup of tea,” Betty suggests, picking up on their boredom as well. “We have a lot of work to do here.” 

Both girls reluctantly agree as they make their way out of the room and towards the back of the shop. 

“You know, I was thinking maybe for the holidays that maybe we could come down to your place,” Betty says warmly and as she fusses with the dress. 

Waverly stops and thinks about that. It’s Christmas time, her favorite time of the year. The tree is up, filled with ornaments and lights, the garland is hung, and presents are lit up underneath the tree. The kids would be running around playing with each other. They’d have kids, right? Everyone is conversing with each other sipping on wine by the warm fire. She’d be sitting in Nicole’s lap, arms wrapped around her waist as she pulled her closer… like a real family. 

“Yeah, that’d be nice. Or maybe… maybe we could come down here for the holidays.” They definitely wouldn’t have room for all of them in a New York apartment… maybe if they moved to Oregon though… 

“That’d be lovely,” Betty says quietly as a smile forms on her face. 

Waverly thinks about what it’d be like to have a real family holiday. Not one where Willa barely spoke to anyone or where Wynonna wasn’t around. Or when Wynonna and Aunt Gus wasn’t fighting. But one where everyone gets along, everyone is happy and healthy. 

“So,” Betty says as she pulls out a square jade necklace from a jewelry box. “This was my great-great grandmother's necklace, it’s been in the family for more than 150 years.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Waverly says softly as she admires the piece of jewelry around her neck. 

“I’m not finished,” Betty shushes. “They were quite the scandal you know. He was Russian and she was Irish. That’s where Nicole gets her red hair from.”

Waverly smiled, _of course_ Nicole was Irish. 

“She was a lot like you. She was strong, stubborn, and wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she smiles warmly at Waverly. “I want you to have it.” 

Waverly quickly shakes her head. “I can’t, I can’t take this.”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Betty fusses. 

“But what about Haley or Kortney? Or even Nicole?”

“It’s been a tradition to give it to the youngest member of the family! They both know they weren't going to keep it and they're ok with it. They know that this is how it’s supposed to go.” 

Waverly gives her a hesitant look. She felt like she was taking something that wasn’t hers to take. 

“They’re perfectly fine with it, I promise,” she reassures. “This necklace isn’t really Nicky’s thing, but it looks beautiful on you.” 

“Thank you,” Waverly says, voice barely above a whisper. “I just- I don’t think-”

“Oh Grandmother’s love giving their grandchildren stuff! It makes us feel like we’ll still be there. Even after we’re gone.” 

Waverly brings her hand to the necklace and stares at it through the mirror. She holds it firmly to her chest.

“Are you ok dear?” Betty asks upon seeing Waverly’s demeanor change. 

Waverly could feel herself getting emotional. Nicole had a loving family, despite her parents not being there, her sisters and grandmother clearly loved her to pieces. She had never had that before. 

Her aunt and uncle of course loved them. They gave them a home and raised them when they had no one else. She loved them both dearly, but they weren’t her mother and father. No one could replace her parents. No one could give her the love and attention she needed from them. They had never known the spoiled rotten, grandmotherly love from anyone before. 

“I…”

 _“Oh God,”_ Waverly thought to herself. What was she putting this family through? What had she dragged all these people, who had been nothing but kind to her, through? She was messing with Nicole’s family just so she could stay in the country. What kind of person does that? 

This isn’t some sort of dream, it’s real. The dress is real, the necklace is real, the way Nicole made her feel… was real. This wasn’t some sort of dream she could wake up from or a TV show where she could yell ‘cut’. 

“I uh…” 

She has to tell them. She can’t put this family through this. She can’t put Nicole through this. Nicole, who clearly has a family who loves her, sisters who have always been there for her, and a grandmother who loved her unconditionally. None of them deserve it. She wants to say something, but the words get stuck in her throat. 

“I…” she tires again, but she can’t. She forces herself to form some sort of smile. “I just wanted to make sure we don’t forget about Nicole’s suit.”

Betty smiles and chuckles. “Oh don’t you worry about that dear. We’ll have you out of here in no time and then you can go back to your girl, ok?” 

Waverly nods as she stares back at her reflection in the mirror. What kind of person has she become?

* * *

Nicole sat waiting in the local coffee shop a few shops away sipping on her cappuccino and talking with Shae. It was nice catching up with her, they had barely spoken since they broke up.

Waverly watched as they happily conversed, sipping on their coffee and sharing a few laughs here and there. Normally she would’ve just found something else to do and let Nicole catch up with her, but she needs to get away from everyone. 

“We need to go,” she says firmly, voice low but dangerous as she storms into the shop. “I’m sorry, Shae. It was nice seeing you again.” She snatches the keys that were sitting on the table and quickly rushes out of the store. 

“Uh, I'll talk to you later, I'll talk to you later. I’ll see you at the wedding ok? Whoa, Waverly wait up!” Nicole quickly shoved her phone into her pocket and she picked up the pace. “What’s wrong?”

“I just- I need to go!” Waverly exclaims as she storms to the car.

“Waverly, just wait a second!” 

“Goddammit do you have to be so fucking tall?!” She angrily fumbles with the seat adjuster as she starts the car. 

“Waverly, just wait a second, ok,” Nicole says cautiously. 

Waverly ignores her and throws the car into drive and speeds out of the parking spot, not checking behind her and cutting off another car, which earns her an angry beep. 

“Shit! Waverly what is wrong!?”

“Nothing just stop talking please!” 

“Waverly!”

Tires screech as she makes a sharp turn, not bothering to slow down at all. “I just… your grandmother… I-”

“My grandmother?! What about my grandmother?!”

“Ugh!” She groaned loudly as she took another sharp turn. “I just… I never had a family like yours, ok?! I didn’t have a loving family, I didn’t have a grandmother who made you breakfast or say ‘hey we’d love to come down to your place for the holidays!’ Your grandma gave me a 150-year-old necklace! _Gave_ it to me Nicole, not let me borrowed.”

Waverly was on the verge of tears. She was hurt by her own selfishness and stupidity. She was hurt for Nicole and her family. 

“Wynonna was gone for most of my childhood, Willa and I barely spoke. My aunt and uncle did the best they could… but no one could replace my parents. No one could replace what I needed from my mom or dad.” The speedometer crept closer and closer to 80 on the residential road they were driving on. 

“Waverly-”

“Your family loves you, do you know that?!” 

“Yes, I know that!” Nicole is frustrated and terrified Waverly was going to crash the car. 

“You still know that and you’re still willing to put them through this?!” 

“They’re not going to find out!” 

“How do you know?!”

“Because you said so yourself, Waverly!”

Waverly’s head is spinning, she feels like she’s about to pass out. “What if your sister’s find out? Oh my God, your grandmother! Nana’s going to have a heart attack!” She quickly swerves onto their street. 

“Waverly she’s not- just- STOP THE CAR!” 

Waverly slams onto the breaks in the middle of the road. She was breathing heavy and her hands and feet were tingling.

“You are in no state to be driving,” Nicole says firmly, unbuckling her seatbelt. She walks over to the driver's side, helping a shaky Waverly out of the car to the passenger seat.

They drive in silence for the next minute until they get to the house.

Waverly’s heart is pounding. She’s dizzy, there are so many emotions swirling around in her head at once she thinks she’s going to pass out. She wants to get out but it’s like she’s paralyzed, she can’t move. 

“Waverly,” Nicole says, prompting her to get out of the car.

She tries to will her legs to move, but nothing moves. 

“Waves,” Nicole says softly upon seeing Waverly’s broken look. She gets out and makes her way over the driver's side. She extends her hand and helps her out of the car. 

She stumbles as she gets out of the car, it’s like her legs are jelly. 

“Whoa, hey, I got you.” Nicole gently helps Waverly to the ground as she sits beside her, hands still intertwined. She can feel how sweaty the brunette’s palms are. 

They sit in silence for a minute. Waverly takes a lot of comfort in Nicole’s touch. 

“You have a family who loves you,” Waverly says softly. “You have sisters who have always been in your life… you’ve had unconditional love from them and your grandmother. I know things with your parents haven’t gone well, but… you have a family. A family that I’ve always dreamed of.”

“Waverly…”

“You have two sisters, a grandmother, and a nephew who love you dearly and I’m just screwing it all up.” She feels a tear roll down the side of her face and she can feel Nicole’s eyes on her. 

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Nicole says quietly as she pulls Waverly into a side hug, she gently runs her hand up and down her arm. 

“I’m so sorry, Nicole,” Waverly sniffles. 

Nicole pulls her closer and places a light kiss on the top of her head.“You’re ok, everything’s going to be ok.” 

If only it were that simple.

They stay like that for a while, Waverly taking massive comfort in Nicole’s embrace. She couldn’t deny the fact that she really liked being in Nicole’s arms. The scent of vanilla was constantly dancing under her nose. 

“Are you feeling better? We should probably head into the house, it looks like your sisters are here already.” She glances up at the battered and beaten white and blue truck sitting in the driveway. 

Waverly nodded as she pulled away from Nicole’s hug, immediately disliking the cold air that hugged her instead. She followed Nicole into the house hoping it wouldn’t be too noticeable that she had been crying. 

Wynonna caught the side of their eyes as she walked out of the barn, serious demeanors written all over their faces. 

“You two should come with me,” Wynonna said sternly, voice low. “Nicole’s grandmother or her sisters isn’t to hear about any of this.” 

Waverly and Nicole exchanged nervous looks as they followed her into the barn. Their faces dropped upon seeing Ms. Chilton round the corner. Willa was standing there, staring at the ground with a long face. 

“Told you I’d check up on you,” Ms. Chilton said with a smug smile. Nicole could’ve sworn it was sinister.

“What did you do?” Nicole asked with wide eyes. 

“Ms. Chilton here showed up at the house this morning looking for you guys. She told us that she strongly believes you two are lying so that Waverly can keep her visa and that if you are, you’re going to jail,” Willa said as she looked at Nicole. “We told her that you went to visit your sisters and that things changed and the wedding was supposed to happen this weekend.”

“Um-”

“Luckily for you, your sister,” she eyed Wynonna. “Negotiated a deal on your behalf. This offer is going to last for twenty seconds so listen closely. You’re going to make a statement admitting this marriage is a sham. You tell the truth, you’re off the hook and she goes back to Canada.” 

“Take the deal,” Wynonna said cajoles quietly. 

“I don’t think so,” Nicole says sternly. 

Waverly stands there, not saying a word.

“Don't be stupid, Nicole.”

“You want a statement? Here’s your statement- I’ve been working for Waverly Earp for three years. A year ago we started dating, we fell in love, I asked her to marry me, she said yes.”

Waverly looks up at Nicole and how impassioned she is. Her eyes were filled with something she couldn’t quite place her finger on, but she knew it was good. 

Nicole glances back and forth between Wynonna, Willa, and Ms. Chilton. 

“I’ll see you at the wedding.” She ends the conversation right there, opening the barn door for Waverly and following her out, slamming the door behind her. 

They walk back to the bedroom in silence. Waverly sits at the end of the bed, looking up nervously at Nicole who looks defeated. 

“So… you sure about this?”

“Not really,” she admits.

“You know I’m very appreciative of what you’ve done but I think that…”

“You’d do the same for me.”

Waverly looks up at her, not giving her an answer. Her heart feels sullen and mentally she's absolutely beat. All she wants to do is crawl into a hole and not come out until all of this was over. 

They’re both pulled from their thoughts as they hear footsteps coming from the hall.

“You,” Nana says as she points at Nicole. “Need to come with me. It’s time to get your suit tailored.”

Nicole and Waverly look back at each other, so many words sitting on the tip of their tongue, words that neither of them can bring themselves to say.

“Come on, now, give her a kiss and let’s go,” Nana urges as she walks back out of the room. 

Waverly doesn’t want her to leave. Part of her wants to talk and the other part wants to be held by the redhead. 

“If I don’t go, she’s just gonna-”

“Come back, yeah. Go,” Waverly says with a soft smile, Nicole’s demeanor tugging at her heartstrings.

“I’ll see you later?”

Waverly nods as Nicole walks out of the room, disappearing down the hall. Thoughts raced through her mind as she threw herself back onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything. From the moment she met Nicole to now. The redhead that she was starting to really admire, the redhead that at times made her heart swell. She did not deserve what she was being put through. But at this point, there was no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I'm having some trouble trying to add and rewrite certain parts of chapters so they may not be up as consistently so please bare with me! Thanks for reading:) xx


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